These are the statues of "giants" in the Church of Santa Maria del Mar. They are not further explained. It is interesting to see that the man holds a sceptre...

The "Fan house" on the Ramblas, actually "Casa Bruno Cuadros" (information on the house kindly provided by P-H Biger , see his advertising fan right, and A. Checcoli. Furthermore, the FANA Quarterly Journal autumn 1996 featured the house.

Flagfans from different centuries in the Museu Mares.

Blanca Aurora Barcelona
or
Fans in the City

Yes, the title sounds a bit like Woody Allen's latest film and it has been chosen on purpose: because the detecting of fans in the city were coincidental encounters, not expected, but the more intriguing, opening up new "fan"tastic sources. The undesputed winning beauty is "Blanca Aurora":

She is a ship figurehead from 1848, and to my knowledge the only one that crossed the oceans with a fan in her hand. The model for Blanca Aurora was Maria Pares, daughter of the captain and ship owner Salvador Pares, and according to contemporary witnesses, the figurehead came close to the real Maria. And apparently, so does the fan that depicts a typical mid-19th century fan. She can be visited at the Maritime Museum.

This is the facade of a house at the Ramblas, Barcelonas buzzing main street. It was the house of the umbrella and fan maker Bruno Cuadros, and built by architect Josep Vilaseca in 1885. The eclectic (some would say crazy) mixture of exotic (Japanese/Chinese) elements is typical for the time.


M. Biger ("Place de l'éventail") owns this advertising fan for the "Casa Bruno Cuadros" the obverse of which shows a corrida scene. He generously allowed to reproduce it here: "Gran Fábrica Especial Bruno Cuadros, Paraguas, Sombrillas, Abanicos y Bastones" (Specialised factory Bruno Cuadros, umbrellas, sunshades, fans and walking sticks). The building left can easily be recognised.

The Museum for Textiles in Barcelona is known to house fans, but it was closed when I was there (October 2008), due to moving to other facilities. However, the coincidence led me to the Museum of Frederic Mares, a sculptor-collector who collected virtually everything. From medieval gothic crucifixes to keys, toys and - fans!

The fans of the Mares Museum are housed in traditional vitrinas at low light but, it appears, spread out since decennies. Unfortunately, no explanation to the single fan is given. For more fan photos of the museum, click here. For more information on the museum, visit the Blog of Andrea Janes (as the links on the museum site do not work).

When going to Barcelona, try to avoid weekends as all cheap airlines go to this destination and most beautiful parts of Barcelona are packed with beer-can-in-hand tourists.

If you have a fan who needs repair, try Jaume Arias, "my" restaurator who runs a framing shop in the very center of Barcelona.

If you want to buy fans, go to Ms. PILAR's shop at the Antique gallery at Passeig de Gracia 55. There are several shops and most of them display fans but she has the biggest selection, with a focus on early 19th century fans - good quality but not cheap! Or try your luck for advertising fans at Llibreria Selvaggio, Carrer Freneria 12 near to the Museu Mares.

...and the lady giant holds a fixed feather fan, thus endorsing the saying that "the fan is a lady's sceptre".

Facade decoration between balconies

Detail of a flagfan